Refusing to play the "God Card"...

This week, we are looking at a section of a letter that the Apostle Paul wrote to early followers of Jesus while in prison facing the possibility of death that is recorded for us in the Bible called the book of Philippians. Yesterday, we looked on as the Apostle Paul commanded the members of the church at Philippi to make his joy complete. The Apostle Paul wanted the joy that he was already experiencing in his life to grow in his life. Paul then explained that how the joy that he was already experiencing in his life would grow in his life as the members of the church at Philippi lived together as a community of faith in such a way that they were united in their heads, hearts, and hands when it came to living in community with one another and engaging in the kingdom mission that they had been given with one another.

You see, the Apostle Paul could command followers of Jesus to make the joy that he was experiencing grow in his life because the Apostle Paul understood that joy grows as a result of the gospels activity in the life of a community of believers. And in the same way today, as followers of Jesus, our joy grows as we are united together in community. A church experiences unity because they are committed to live in community with one another that is centered on and that is committed to the message of the gospel and the kingdom mission that they have been given by Jesus.  And as followers of Jesus live in community with one another that is centered on and that is committed to the message of the gospel and the kingdom mission that we have been given by Jesus, the result is a growing joy.

In addition, Paul commanded followers of Jesus throughout history to do nothing that is motivated by a desire to advance one’s own selfish agenda or to exaggerate one’s status in the eyes of others. Instead of being all about one’s own agenda and one’s own status in the eyes of others, Paul commanded the members of the church at Philippi to with humility of mind regard one another as more important than yourselves.

Paul’s point here is that as followers of Jesus, we are to consider those around us more than we consider ourselves. As followers of Jesus we are to place the needs of others before our own needs. The Apostle Paul revealed for us the reality that our joy grows when we consider others more important than ourselves. A trait of gospel centered unity is that those in gospel centered community consider others more important than themselves and place others before themselves.

Now right about now, you are thinking to yourself “Well Dave that’s a lot to ask. Doesn’t Paul realize what he is asking? And how can Paul justify asking so much from me?” If those questions are running through your mind, I just want to let you know that those are fair questions and objections to be asking. And fortunately for us, we see the Apostle Paul address those questions and objections in what he says next. So let’s look at what the Apostle Paul had to say next, beginning in Philippians 2:5:

Have this attitude in yourselves which was also in Christ Jesus, who, although He existed in the form of God, did not regard equality with God a thing to be grasped, but emptied Himself, taking the form of a bond-servant, and being made in the likeness of men.

Paul begins verse 5 by commanding the members of the church at Philippi and us here today to have this attitude in yourselves which was also in Christ Jesus. When Paul talks about having an attitude here, Paul is not referring to a knee-jerk reaction to something; this attitude comes as a result of reflection. Paul here is talking about having a focused mindset. If Paul was giving us this command in the language we use today, the command would sound something like this; be dominated by the same kind of thinking that dominated Jesus; have the same focused mindset that Jesus had.

But what kind of focused mindset did Jesus have? Paul answers that question for us in verse six, when he states that although He existed in the form of God, did not regard equality with God a thing to be grasped. The word existed here literally means to be. Paul is literally stating here that although Jesus be God; although He always existed as God, He did not regard equality with God as something to be grasped. This idea of grasping here literally means to grip or to hold onto so as to not let go.  

Paul’s point here is that although Jesus existed from all eternity as God, He did not consider and regard His high position as God as something that needed to be held onto or asserted in order to achieve personal advantage or prestige. In other words, Jesus never played the “God card”. Jesus never walked into a crowded restaurant with His disciples and used His prestige or position to get the best table. “Hey, I’m God, I want the table over there”. Jesus never cut in line while He was shopping for groceries at the local store by saying “Hey, don’t you know who I am?” Although He had every right to do so as the Creator of the universe, Jesus never played that God card. Jesus never used who He was in order to achieve personal advantage or prestige.

Instead of playing the God card, Paul explains to us in verse seven that Jesus emptied Himself, taking the form of a bond-servant. But what does Paul mean when He says that Jesus emptied Himself?  This word emptied literally means to make empty or to divest oneself of prestige. What Paul is communicating here is that Jesus laid or set aside His divine prerogatives and privileges.

There was a professor at the graduate school that I went to who was from Japan. This professor had the privilege of having the reigning champion Sumo wrestler visit his family while he was in the United States. After having dinner, the professor and his wife began to do the dishes while this world champion sumo wrestler and their kindergarten age son were in the living room. As they were doing dishes, they heard a growing laughter in their living room. As the laughter increased, the couple stopped doing the dishes and went into their living room to investigate what the increasing laughter was all about. Upon entering the living room, they discovered that their kindergarten age boy had been wrestling with the world champion sumo wrestler. Their kindergarten age boy was on top of the world champion sumo wrestler laughing, while the sumo wrestler laughingly stated “you win, you win, I give up”.

Can you picture that scene in your mind? At any time, the world champion sumo wrestler could have squashed this little kindergarten age boy like a bug. But instead, this world champion sumo wrestler laid aside his prestige and prerogatives in order to engage and enter into the world of a kindergarten aged boy. And in the same way, Jesus laid aside His Divine prestige and prerogatives in order to engage and enter into our world.

Instead of playing the God card, Paul states that Jesus laid aside His Divine prestige and prerogatives in order to engage and enter into our world by taking the form of a bond servant, made in the likeness of men. The word for taking that is used here literally means to get a hold of something by grasping. A bond servant was a slave of the lowest possible status in society. Paul uses a play on words here to reveal the reality that while Jesus could have kept a firm grasp on His Divine status and privilege, Jesus chose to let go of that status and instead chose to enter humanity to grasp and embrace the form of a condemned slave. But why would Jesus do that?

Paul answers this question with two powerful points. Paul’s first point is that Jesus entered into humanity and took on human nature so that He could not only be truly Divine; Jesus entered humanity and grasped and embraced the form of a condemned slave so that He could experience the human condition and the most profound and humbling manner. Paul then gives us the second powerful point in Philippians 2:8. Let’s look at it together:

Being found in appearance as a man, He humbled Himself by becoming obedient to the point of death, even death on a cross.

In verse 8, Paul provides his second point as to why Jesus entered humanity by grasping and embracing the form of a condemned slave. When Paul uses the phrase here being found in appearance as a man, he is literally saying “When He appeared in human form, He humbled Himself by becoming obedient to the point of death by embracing the form of a condemned slave”.  Paul’s point here is that Jesus purposefully laid aside His Divine status and the divine prerogatives so as to be able to die.

You see, God created us to live in a relationship with Him and one another and so that we could play a small role in His huge story. However, instead of entering into the relationship with God and each other that we were created for, we selfishly chose to reject the relationship with God and the role in His story so that we could create our own story, where the story is all about us and where we are the star. 

And God’s response to our selfish rejection and rebellion, which the Bible calls sin was this: “I’ll show you. I’m going to send my one and only Son. And I’m going to send my one and only Son to make things right. I am going to send my one and only son to deal with your selfishness and rebellion. And He is going to deal with your selfishness and rebellion by dying for you. My Son, who created the universe is going to come to you and humble Himself, and die, for you, and for me”.

But Jesus did not enter into humanity to die just any death. Jesus entered humanity to die on a cross. Crucifixion, which is the form of death that awaited Jesus at the end of His life on earth, was the most humiliating form of punishment ever devised. Death on the cross was usually reserved for condemned slaves, who were considered the lowest form of humanity. This was a death that was reserved for the worst criminals and for enemies of the Roman Empire. Crucifixion was designed for maximum humiliation and maximum suffering. Crucifixion was so abhorred by society that it was not even depicted in early Christian art. Historians have discovered that the fist depictions of crucifixion only occurred after all those who had ever seen a live crucifixion had died.

Now a natural question that comes into your mind is “why would Jesus do that? Why would Jesus allow Himself to suffer the most humiliating death imaginable? And why would God send His Son to endure so much pain and rejection?” Great questions. Paul’s point here is that Jesus Christ, as God in a bod, abandoned His entitlement so He could embrace humanity.

And Paul’s point here is that as followers of Jesus our joy grows as we follow the example of Jesus. Our joy grows as we follow the example of Jesus who did not consider his personal status as something to be used to achieve an advantage over others. Our joy grows because we follow the mindset of Jesus who set aside His status for the needs of others.

Now you might be wondering “Well Dave, what Jesus did does not sound like it produced joy for Jesus. What Jesus did does not seem like it would produce a growing joy in the life of Jesus? So why would I even think that following the example of Jesus would result in my joy growing?”

Great questions. Friday, we will see Paul provide the answer to those questions...